Art in Bloom to bring fresh experience to museum

Brian Wildeman (left) and Craig Coursey weave plants and grasses in a wire mesh as they recreate Picasso’s “ LeFumeur The Smoker” for the Art in Bloom event where designers chose a piece of art from the Evansville Museum for their inspiration to create their own art out of flowers.(Photo: MIKE LAWRENCE / COURIER & PRESS)Buy Photo

Whether as oil on canvas or a fresh flower display, museum-goers will be able to see "Girl with a Rake at Eventide" this week at the Evansville Museum.

Jodi Duncan chose this piece, by artist Carlos Stragoaliti, as the inspiration for her entry into the first Art in Bloom in Evansville. The special display is Thursday through Sunday.

"With the floral design community and the art community (Art in Bloom) was a great collaboration just to come in and enhance and bring attention to what the museum does and also what floral designers do," Duncan said.

Duncan owns Jodi Duncan Designs, a full-service flower shop based in Norris City, Illinois. This Art in Bloom will be the third she has participated in since 2007, although the first here.

Duncan and 12 other designers will create their own floral pieces to be displayed at the museum along with their inspiration pieces, all works the museum has in its permanent collection.

Mary Bower, chief curator at the museum, said the idea to hold an Art in Bloom locally originated about a year ago with the addition of an exhibition of works by Ramón Vilanova.

Art in Bloom: The Plein Air Painting of Ramon Vilanova, includes 35 new paintings by the Spanish artist.

Bower said Vilanova is known for not taking photos of his subject, but instead doing all of his painting outdoors with the landscapes and flowers right in front of him.

Bower said she is looking forward to seeing the creativity the florists bring to their inspired pieces. The pieces were chosen by each artist's tastes and though there are some stipulations, one being at least 90 percent of the piece is made of fresh flowers, the artists have free reign to design.

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Using a variety of plants and grasses, Evansville landscaper Brian Wildeman creates his version of Picasso’s “ LeFumeur The Smoker” for the Art in Bloom event at the Evansville Museum.(Photo: MIKE LAWRENCE / COURIER & PRESS)

Brian Wildeman will be creating two pieces for the event, one for inside and one large display to greet guests at the museum doors.

Wildeman, Matt Wagner and Sarah Schuler will all work to create the outdoor display, inspired by "Le Fumeur," a lithograph by Pablo Picasso.

Wildeman said he liked this piece because it was graphic and illustrative with a lot of simple and straight lines.

He also liked the idea of bringing a piece of work that much of the community might not know about to the forefront of the museum.

Duncan agreed. She said she wondered how many people on the street would be able to say there was a Picasso in Evansville?

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Using a variety of plants and grasses, Craig Coursey (left) and Brian Wildeman at work in Wildeman’s landscaping business Tuesday, recreating Picasso’s “LeFumeur The Smoker” for the Art in Bloom event where designers chose a piece of art from the Evansville Museum for their inspiration to create their own art out of flowers.(Photo: MIKE LAWRENCE / COURIER & PRESS)

It was actually Wildeman who got Duncan involved in this Art in Bloom. After being the florist for his wedding, Duncan and Wildeman became friends. And when he heard about this event through the "grapevine," he reached out to her.

Both designers love to travel and bring aspects of what they see elsewhere to Evansville, something else that stands out as an opportunity with Art in Bloom.

"It just makes our communities better to be able to share what we have learned in our travels," Duncan said.

Overall, Duncan said Art in Bloom is an opportunity to celebrate what the different types of artists have in common as designers.

"(The pieces) are art. The principals and elements are the same," she said. "It's just a different interpretation whether your medium is acrylic or watercolor or pen and ink or whether your medium is hydrangeas, allium and all those other things."

Preview the exhibit, tea and luncheon honoring Patricia Vaughan Theby, long-time volunteer and member of the museum. Nancy Bennett will present an interactive demonstration on how to design creative floral arrangements. Tickets are $35 for members, $40 for non-members. Requires RSVP by calling Call 812-425-2406.

Purchase butterflies at evansvillemuseum.org or by calling 812-425-2406. Cost is $20 for the butterfly, free if already attended the cocktail party and the rose tea. $20 for the butterfly plus museum admission if not a member.

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Horse Tail Rush one of the several plants Evansville landscaper Brian Wildeman picked for use in his recreation of Picasso’s “ LeFumeur The Smoker” for the Art in Bloom event at the Evansville Museum.(Photo: MIKE LAWRENCE / COURIER & PRESS)